Eminent Men connected with the Town
and Parish.—Sir Archibald Johntone, Lard Warriston, John London Macadam—John
Finlay—William Morrison—Rev. John Walker, F.R.S.E.

A MORE pleasing portion of the study of history, or
one more apt to remunerate the diligence of the student, can scarcely be
conceived than that which gives us a definite idea of the lives, characters,
and literary undertakings of those who, from their vast intellectual
qualifications, have rendered our country more famous. There is scarcely a
district in any country which has not given birth to some subsequently
famous man; and there is scarcely any place destitute of some memento of
their former greatness or of their fallen glory. Where men of genius have
lived or died we generally find in some secluded spot of the sequestrated
village churchyard, some tangible evidence of respect and appreciation of
talent In others, however, we sometimes find nothing but a simple
rudely-lettered superscription on a rough-hewn stone, which surmounts the
resting-places of those who, in the field of science or of art, were when in
life duly reverenced and esteemed. Moffat does not lack importance as
regards eminent men who, from birth, residence, or similar ties and
associations, are intimately connected with it, and are in a work such as
this worthy of our notice. It has produced men whom the world has regarded
with no common interest and appreciation. It has sheltered others when the
winter of years was making sad havoc of the once sprightly, blooming, and
vigorous frame; and who had hastened, as to their last refuge, to gain an
envied prolongation of life. And its church-yard contains the remains of
some eminent men, of whom we are desirous to speak in the present chapter.
It cannot but be a matter of delight to consider that Moffat was the
birth-place of one of the greatest men who ever raised a voice for religious
reform during the agitations which took place in the seventeenth century.
Moffat can claim as a native that man who, independent of the calumnies of
numerous writers in prose and verse, is worthy of universal admiration, for
he it was who framed the most important document connected with liberty of
action and freedom of opinion in relation to ecclesiastical matters, which
displayed the indignant resentment of the Scottish people to the
machinations of a prelatical government. In the succeeding biographical
sketches, we must of necessity be brief, even at the expense of neglecting
information received from various sources. We cannot now do better than
sketch the life and character of the man to whom we have indirectly
referred.

Sir ARCHIBALD
JOHNSTONE, Lord Warristoun, was born at Beerholm, two miles below Moffat.
The exact date of his birth has not as yet been determined, but he was
created an advocate in 1633. About 1637 he is prominently seen in the
capacity of an advocate in behalf of the Presbyterians, the public denouncer
of their persecutors; and being one of the few legal advisers of the time
favourable to covenanting principles, and from his professional powers, he
was their chief confidant, and was cognisant of all their movements. Most of
the documents connected with the Covenant, and considered to be the most
important relating to the history of our National Church as the firm
foundation for all subsequent religious reformations, were prepared by him
and presented to the Privy Council. The interest which he manifested in them
caused them to repose much confidence in him, and appoint him to superintend
the administration of affairs in Scotland. We have already noticed in the
chapter bearing on the history of the Covenant [chap. VI.] that when, in
1641, Charles I. visited Edinburgh he conferred honours and rewards on the
Presbyterian leaders, as a means of winning their affection and support, and
Johnstone was not exempted from the favoured few; for we find he was
knighted, created a Lord of Session, with 4200 per annum as a pension. To
shew the numerous and responsible positions which he filled with efficiency
during this period of religious trouble and dispute, would occupy too much
space, therefore we trust the following abridgement may suffice. It is but
natural to expect that one who had so long exerted himself on behalf of the
Presbyterians, and who had made strenuous efforts to make their principles
more fully acknowledged and supported, should, in 1643, be sent to represent
in the estates of Parliament the capital of his native country. Having had
no reason to fear his departure from the cause, he was further honoured by
his being in the succeeding year ordained a Parliamentary Commissioner to
attend the Assembly of Divines and the English Parliament, in the former of
which he acted a prominent part. And now having been imposed with the
fulfilment of so many arduous duties of a religious character, he was
destined to be elevated in his profession—succeeding, in 1646, Sir Thomas
Hope as Lord Advocate--a position which, from his complete knowledge of
Scots law, he was well fitted, and in every respect he "magnified the
office." But, in 1660, the first glance of the dark side of the picture of
his life is gained. His undisguised predilections in favour of
Presbyterianism had not been disregarded by the zealous opponents of the
cause which he advocated, and consequently they took harsh measures
effectually to stop the practical development of plans which he had
originated, which resulted in his being outlawed in the year above
mentioned, on the grounds of his supporting the Covenanters. He fled to the
Continent, trusting that the storm of wrath would soon blow over, but that
action proved a true verification of the old saying, "out of the frying pan
into the fire." The conduct of the physicians who ministered to him in his
afflictions during his stay on the Continent, cannot be too strongly
reprobated. They gradually reduced him to the condition of an imbecile. In
1661 he was condemned to death, and in 1663, executed at the Cross of
Edinburgh. Thus ended the career of one which centuries seldom produce; but
the confident declaration emitted prior to his execution, indicated his
strict adherence to the principles of the Covenant, and assurance of the
victory being gained by those whom in every respect he had so long and 80
ably supported.

JOHN LOUDON
MACADAM was born at Ayr on the 21st September, 1756. He was educated at the
School of Maybole, and on his father's death, in 1770, he was sent to New
York, where he subsequently amassed a considerable fortune in the capacity
of agent for the sale of prizes, but which in a series of barren
speculations he unfortunately lost. Immediately on his return to his native
country he settled down for some time at Dumcrieff, near Moffat, of which
place we have already spoken. On his appointment as deputy-lieutenant for
Ayrshire he removed to Sauchrie, and afterwards to Falmouth, when he was by
Government appointment created agent for superintending the proper
victualling of the British Navy in the western ports. * During his tenure of
office as a trustee for the Ayrshire Roads, the idea of inventing an
economical system for the preservation of highways first entered his mind,
and in some secluded spot in England the project was matured, having then
studied in a methodical manner the complete process of roadmaking in its
most minute and least recognised details. By his accepting the office oJ
Surveyor-General of the Bristol Roads in 1815, he wa enabled practically to
illustrate the magnitude of his scheme, which led, in 1823, to his being
summoned before the House of Commons for examination regarding the supposed
benefit which would accrue from the converting of the ruble granite
causeways in the chiel streets of towns and cities into a smooth surface
similar to that already formed by him on the public roads; which resulted in
most of the streets of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin being Macadamised. It
is but natural to expect that in the projecting and carrying into effect of
a scheme of such vast dimensions, in addition to the time and labour, a
considerable sum of money must have been expended. And such was the case,
for, in 1825, he proved to the satisfaction of a Select Committee of the
House of Commons that he had advanced several thousand pounds for the
effectual completion of his plan, which Committee ordained that £10,000, in
two separate grants, should be given him as a sufficient acknowledgement for
the service he had done the country. In 1834 he was offered a knighthood,
which he respectfully refused on account of his age and increasing
infirmities, but the title was conferred upon his son, Sir James Nicoll
Macadam, who had materially assisted him as a road engineer. Mr. Macadam
died at the advanced age of eighty at Moffat, a place which he particularly
loved, on the 26th November, 1836, and an unpretentious headstone marks his
resting place in the pretty churchyard.

JOHN FINLAY was born at Glasgow in the year 1782.
After leaving the academy of Mr. Hall, then recognised as one of the best in
the city, he attended the University, and had a career of unusual
brilliance, particularly in the classes of Philosophy, Latin, and Greek,
where, for the excellence of his prose compositions and the beauty of his
poetical pieces, chiefly written on classical subjects, he merited the
honours which were liberally showered upon him: gained the favour of his
professors, and was held in the general estimation of his fellow-students.
But as a scholar he was not destined alone to shine. He had previously given
indications of originality of thought and expression, seldom evinced in
parties of such youthful years; and those in the form of a work, since much
appreciated and admired, were soon to stand the test of public criticism,
and receive the share of approbation which they merited. He was one who
could compose at the most inopportune moments, amidst the bustle of his
classmates, or with case and calmness during examinations, while those
surrounding him were terrified at the Examiners

He was not like Young, who could alone compose when
every fair streak of day-light was precluded from his sanctum, but anywhere
or everywhere he startled his contemporaries with the purity of his
imaginings. While living within the walls of our ancient Alma Mater (now
tenanted by the unscrupulous railway officials, whose din destroys the
sanctity of the place), as was wont in those days when the figure of the
venerable Zachary Boyd might frequently have been seen strutting down its
shaded courts, whose finn and massive walls echoed back his fast-retreating
footsteps, or while wandering 'noath the verdant arcades of the once sturdy
oaks, which were the beauty and the pride of our College Green, close to the
classic Molendinar, which then in its purity wimpled by, John Finlay
published, at the early age of nineteen, his "Wallace; or, the Vale of
Ellerslie," which immediately established his reputation as a poet. Similar
work proceeded from his pen, and, in 180, lie repaired to London in the hope
of obtaining a permanent appointment in one of the public offices, but he
was disappointed and left for Glasgow in 1808, not however before he had
been recognised as a poet of no mean merit by an English public, chiefly
through the periodical literature of the day; and had given himself up to
antiquarian research and inquiry, which was subsequently productive of much
good fruit, and rendered himself worthy of being classed with Sir 'Walter
Scott and Robert Jamieson as an antiquarian and writer of romantic and
historical poetry in imitation of the ancient. In 1808 he published two
volumes of "Historical and Romantic Ballads," containing one or two of his
own poems, said by some learned critics of the time to be almost the most
successful representations of the life and character of the people in the
early period, as given by the poetical chroniclers, such as Wyntoun, Rymer,
and others, that have ever been produced. About this period Finlay received
an offer from Professor Richardson to the effect that he would advance for a
share in a printing business the necessary money, and this Finlay thought
first of accepting. But not altogether understanding the modu8 operandi of
the business, and fancying there would scarcely be sufficient pecuniary
remuneration for the time and labour bestowed in the project, he humbly
declined the acceptance of the generous offer of the worthy professor; and
his hopes of gaining an appointment in London having been strengthened and
increased from reliable sources, towards the end of 1810 be left Glasgow for
the purpose of having a consultation on the subject with friends then
resident in England. At Moffat he was seized with what has since been
considered apoplexy. Having no apprehensions of danger, with his customary
carelessness regarding himself, he did not acquaint either friend or
relative with his state and condition. This unselfish interest to the last
he manifested. A little before his death he penned a letter to a dear
friend, full of humour and cheerfulness; and, says a writer, "he seems to
have slipt at last out of life without struggle and without pain." John
Finlay was buried in Moffat churchyard-a fact sufficient of itself to hallow
the lovely spot independent of its other glorious associations.

WILLIAM MORRISON was born at Moffat in 1796. In 1821,
after having devoted himself assiduously to mercantile business, he visited
New York, again applied himself to work, and by close attention to his
various duties he was, like Macadam, destined to reap the fruits of his
industry, which by his unaided efforts ho had gained. Having, in 1830,
repaired to the East Indies he was universally respected, but in Calcutta
particularly so, where, recognising the truth of the saying "honesty is the
best policy," he merited the enviable appellation of an "upright merchant,"
the rarity of such increasing the value of the title. On the 27th September,
1837, he died on board ship while on his homeward voyage, and was buried at
sea. The subject of this sketch is related to Moffat in a twofold aspect;
prima, the matter of birth; 8ecundo, the money which, by his last will, he
left for the erection and endowment of a school in his native town, his
primary object being that the children of the less wealthy natives should,
at an almost nominal fee, be provided with a complete and suitable English
education, his pet idea having been to reduce the ignorance, irreligion, and
pauperism in the country.

JOHN WALKER, who from his eccentricities was denominated by the least
reverential of the inhabitants "the mad minister of Moffat," was presented
by the curator of the Marquis of Annandale to Moffat parish, (being
translated from Glencross), on the 4th March, and on the 15th July, 1762,
was duly admitted. In 1764, the General Assembly of the Church placed him in
various onerous and responsible positions, which he filled to their entire
satisfaction, two of which may here be cited—to make a general survey of the
Western Highlands, and report their moral and physical condition, so that
the Church, in conjunction with the commissioners of annexed estates,
might., if need be, form plans for their improvement; and by the Society for
the Propagation of Religious Knowledge, to visit and report the progress of
the various schools. On the 28th February, 1765, he obtained from the
University of Glasgow, his M.D., and on the 22nd March of the same year, the
University of Edinburgh conferred on him the title of D.D. In 1779 he
received an offer from the latter University, the acceptance of which caused
much angry debate and dissension in the Church Courts. He was created Regius
Professor of Natural History, and keeper of the Museum of the University.
This was first considered by the Presbytery, "who found the said office
incompatible with his continuing minister at Moffat." He was translated to
Colinton, 7th Januaiy, 1783, and died in 1804, upwards of seventy years of
age. He was the author of numerous works, chiefly on Natural History, held
in their day in considerable repute, and, in 1757, there appeared in the
"Philosophical Transactions," an article on Hartfell Spa.

These are but a few of Moffat's men of distinction. A
Dickson and a Welsh from their titles and literary attainments; a Boyd, from
his acts of benevolence and truly philanthropic character; and a Rogerson,
as a successful physician, a scientific discoverer in his career, and a
elebrated scholar, might worthily claim consideration at our hands, and be
cited as proofs of its former glory. How sweet to rehearse the scenes of
their early life. Thoughts of their daily actions, the most simple or
profound of their lives, stir up the beautiful lines of Shelley—

"Music, when soft voices die,Vibrates in the
memory;Odours, when sweet violets sicken,Live within the sense they
quicken."

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